Laundry frame



May 5, 1953 A. A. Rx-:lFscHNElDER 2,637,191

LAUNDRY FRAME Filed May 29, 1951 1 :i d l z2 /5 /7 /4 ,C

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BY )fmazqmwz v 9mm v ATTORNEYS Patented May 5, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to laundry frames, and more particularly to a laundry frame to be mounted on a bathtub to support a washer and wringer above the bathtub.

1t is among the objects of the invention to provide an improved laundry frame or rack which can be mounted on the upper edges ci a bathtub to extend across the top of the tub to support a wringer and a small size washing machine or pail above the bathtub so that the bathtub can be used to contain rinse water and to receive water dripping from the wringer; which provides a seat for a washing machine and a drain board for directing water from the wringer into the bathtub; which provides for the support of wet or damp laundry and permits the free passage of water therethrough; and which is simple and durable in construction, economical to manufacture and easy to use.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and the appended claims in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure i is a perspective View of a laundry frame illustrative of the invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional View on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of the laundry frame, portions being broken away and shown in cross-section to better illustrate the construction thereof; and

Figure 4 is a somewhat diagrammatic view showing the laundry frame in place on a bathtub and supporting a washing machine and a wringer.

With continued reference to the drawing, the laundry frame comprises a pair of side bars I and II of elongated, rectangular cross-sectional shape disposed in spaced apart and substantially parallel relationship to each other. Each of these bars is recessed at its opposite ends to receive the curved upper edge portions of a bathtub, as illustrated in Figure 4, so that the frame will be supported at the upper side of the bathtub and will extend transversely thereacross.

Cross members I2, I3, I4 and I5 extend between the side bars It and I i, substantially perpendicular thereto, and are firmly secured at their ends to the side bars by suitable means, such as the screws I6. The crossbar I2 is disposed near one end of the pair of side bars I0 and II, the crossbar I5 near the other end of the pair of side bars, the crossbar I3 near the mid-length location of the pair of side bars, and the crossbar I4 substantially midway between the crossbar I3 and the crossbar I5.

Slats or rungs I 'I extend between the side bars in spaced apart and substantially parallel relationship to each other and to the crossbars, and are disposed in the spaces between adjacent crcssbars. The crossbars I2, I3 and I4 have their upper edges substantially flush withthe upper edges of the side bars II) and II, while the rungs i'i and the crossbar I5 have their upper edges spaced below the upper edges of the side bars.

A fifth crossbar I8 extends between the side bars substantially midway between the crossbars i?! and i3 with its upper edge disposed below the upper edges of the side bars, this crossbar being used to reinforce the portion of the frame on which the washing machine is seated.

The crossbars I2 and I3 are provided with partly circular recesses I9 and 20 near their upper edges, the curved edges of these recesses lying in a circle having a diameter substantially the same as the diameter of the bottom of an apartment size washing machine, as designated at 2I in Figure 4, to provide a seat for such a washing machine.

A nat drainboard 22 is disposed between the side bars Iii and II at the outer side of the end crossbar I5 and is pivotally secured at its ends to the side bars by suitable means, such as the pivot pins 23 and 2li projecting from the corresponding ends or the drainboard and received in apertures in the side bars I0 and II near the corresponding ends of these side bars.

The drainboard 22 bears at one edge against the outer side of the end crossbar I5 in a manner to support the drainboard in the upwardly and outwardly inclined position illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, and is foldable from this position onto the upper surface of the crossbar I5 and the adjacent slats. rIhis board is provided in its edge adjacent the crossbar I5 with an elongated slot or recess Z5 which permits water to ow freely from the upper side of the drainboard through the frame.

With the frame resting on the upper edges of a bathtub 2li, as illustrated in Figure 4, and extending transversely of the upper open side of the bathtub, the Washer 2l may be disposed in the recesses i 9 and 2li so that it will be rmly supported on the frame and a clothes wringer 21 may be mounted on one of the side bars or members of the frame by suitable means, such as the screw clamps 23, for drying laundry taken from the washing machine or the bathtub. A suicient amount of water is preferably maintained in the Washing machine at all times that the wringer is in use to hold the frame firmly on the bathtub and prevent movement of the frame by the efforts necessary to operate the wringer, and a quantity of rinse water is preferably maintained in the bathtub so that laundry taken from the washing machine can be quickly and conveniently rinsed before being passed through the wringer 21. Laundry passed through the wringer will be supported on the portion of the frame adjacent the wringer, and any water dripping from this laundry or from the wringer will fall into the bathtub Where it will not cause any inconvenience.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms Without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalen-cy of the claims are, therefore, intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:

1. A laundry frame comprising a pair of side bars disposed in spaced apart substantially parallel relationship to each other and recessed at their ends to receive the upper edge portions of a bathtub, crossbars extending between said side bars one near each end of said pair of side bars and at least one intermediate the length thereof. the intermediate crossbar and one of the end crossbars being recessed to provide a seat for a washing machine and one of said side bars being adapted to provide a support for a clothes wringer, slats extending between said side bars in spaced apart relationship to each other and within the spaces between adjacent crossbars. and a drainboard extending between and pivotally connected at its ends to said side bars at the outer side of the other of said end crossbars and inclined relative to said side bars.

2. A laundry frame comprising a pair of side bars disposed in spaced apart substantially parallel relationship to each other and recessed at their ends to receive the upper edge portions of a bathtub, crossbars extending between said side bars one near each end of said pair of side bars and at least one intermediate the length thereof, one of said side bars being adapted to provide a support for a clothes wringer, slats extending between said side bars in spaced apart relationship to each other and within the spaces between adjacent crossbars, and a drainboard extending between and pivotally connected at its ends to said side bars at the outer sides of one of said end crossbars and inclined relative to said side bars, said one crossbar and said slats having their upper edges disposed below the upper edges of said side bars.

ARTHUR A. REIFSCHNEIDER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 165,149 Bauman July 6, 1875 1,053,371 Eustice Feb. 18, 1913 1,289,719 Fiala Dec. 31, 1918 1,489,027 Eck Apr. 1, 1924 2,139,968 McLachlan Dec. 13, 1938 

